Reel flanges arrived today-did I do this right?

[Bloodbone]

Assembled them to the pancake of 256,and noticed that there was a bigger gap between flanges in one spot.Hmm...
Saw that the tape isn't actually installed onto the hub very carefully.It is as if the winding machine at the factory has a flat surface like a flange,that the hub is attached to while the tape is wound onto it.
But if it wobbles up a bit,there is nothing to prevent that.
Had me kinda concerned.
So I put the newly assembled reel onto the feed side,and carefully routed it through the Otari,and onto the take-up reel.
Put it on Play just to see if everything moved.Looked fine.
Put it on Fast Forward for a few seconds,and after it gets up to speed it vibrates a bit because of the poorly wrapped hub the pancake of tape came on.
Proceeded to wind the tape onto the take-up reel,in short bursts.Let it run a few seconds,then stop.Seemed to help a lot.It wound onto the take-up reel looking like it ought to.
Ran it to where the time counter said 33:00,then stopped.Couldn't be much more tape on there.Ran it in Rewind for a few seconds,and it seemed okay,except maybe the hub adapter on the feed side may need tightening.Just a slight chatter.
All said,I am thinking everything is probably okay.What do you think?
Very impressed with the apparent quality of the Otari.Seems as solid as an Abrams tank.
It will probably be the weekend before I attempt to record anything.Is it okay just to leave the tape reels on the machine,with most of the tape on the take-up side?
Also I don't have any sort of a cover for the unit.What should I get,and who sells it?
Thanks.

[Beck]

Best way to get a perfect even pack is to put the new reel of tape on the take-up side and rewind it to an empty reel. Next spool the tape back onto the original reel in play mode.

It's ok to leave the tape on the machine for a time but you should relieve the tension on the lifters, so the capstan doesn't keep spinning and so the tape won't be under stretching force.